This film is part of Free

Family Christmas Home Movie

It's an austerity Christmas from 1948 with a scary looking Santa Claus dishing out the presents and the kisses.

Amateur film 1948 8 mins Silent

From the collection of:

Logo for Wessex Film and Sound Archive

Overview

This film from 1948 features Christmas at the height of austerity in post-war Britain. We see families arriving and expectant children gathered round a Christmas Tree, where Santa Claus, wearing a rather spooky-looking mask, dishes out presents and kisses. Soon it's bed-time and the children are seen asleep with books, dolls and Teddy Bears on their pillows. Meanwhile the men are playing cards downstairs while Mother locks up the house. The long Christmas Day closes.